Ex-Liverpool captain Whelan: Don't blame Americans

"To get beaten by Barnsley - I don't know what's going on. The performances on the pitch have been absolutely abysmal," Whelan told RTE radio. "Okay, you say 'now and again there's a cup upset, it's a one-off' but it's not really a one-off at the moment with Liverpool.

"They struggled against a team six leagues below in the round before, who no-one had ever heard of. They struggled against Luton, they're having a lot of struggles at the moment.

"They have no chance of winning the league. And I think the manager is under a lot of pressure now."

Whelan continued: "He spent an awful lot of money on an awful lot of players and they haven't been very good signings.

"And people are shouting, 'get rid of the Americans'. The Americans have backed the manager to the hilt. They gave him £46million or something to spend in the summer.